welcome to jond the headlines, i'm cheryl jennings. we're talking about the life saving gift of organ donation. for many patients who are waiting for a transplant it is there only hope.

according to the californiaant s of july of this year, there was more than 72,000 active patients on the national waiting list. organs are the kidney, liver and heart is the highest mand. they have to hang on until a donor can be found. so it's constant and urgent. joining me is a man that knows all about that, anthony robinson. a captain of the investigative services bureau and heart transplant recipient. i want to thank you for being here today. most people would never know. >> that is what it's supposed to be. >> tell me about when you decided or what was it like you to? >> i was told in 1993 i needed a heart transplant but it years maybe a few years ago when i

really felt i was starting to slow down, couldn't walk upstairs and i was hospitalized for four or five months. i did receive a heart transplant. >> did you have to wait for a long time? >> ways on a waiting list for five months on and off. >> are you wru nervous about it? >> i was nervous about it. my doctor said we got it within two weeks. that is all i left. i was little nervous but i have faith. >> reporter: what was run-up to that, what did you have to do? >> from the time i actually was hospitalized i basically had to eat well and try to follow the instructions of the doctors and be patient. there really isn't much i could do. i was laying in a hospital bed basically waiting. >> it must have been frustrating at work. >> my life was on hold for over a year and a half. >> once you received a transplant, obviously, what was

the recovery like? >> from the time my eyes opened after the surgery, the recovery was slow but i was so happy to have received a heart from someone i didn't even know that it was a wonderful journey from. from the time to right now, it's just been amazing. >> reporter: so it did take a while? >> it did. i took a lot of work. i loved lost about 35 pounds, i had put on the weight. i hadn't eaten for four months. everything was being fed to me by a tube. so had on do a lot of things we normally take for granted including walking. i stay pretty busy. a couple of months ago my fiance wa walked to the bank of america building which is 354 flights to the top. we're going to be walking to the top of the transamerica building for the commemoration of 9/11.

>> what do you know about doesh. >> i know bhees 39 years old. he had two girls that was grown. he had a brain hemorrhage. he told his daughters when they were young he wanted to be a donor. he she had was giving man when he was alive and he is still giving. >> reporter: did you meet the family? >> i wrote them a letter. they wrote me back and invited me to call them on the phone. did i. i spoke with them last christmas eve and i thought them for a gifted that made me here today. >> you'll be getting married soon? >> i am getting married soon also. i guess everybody knows that. i'm kidding.

>> donate life? >> i volunteer with the california trauma donor network, it it's my way of giving back and is honors danny and let everybody know it's important to be a donor. >> we have about seconds left. >> you are going to be in rose bowl parade? >> on the rose bowl float there. i'm really looking for it. >> thank you. what an inspiration for everybody at home. we do have to take a quick break. we're going to hear a personal story of organ donations about somebody donating from one of the popular voices

welcome back to "beyond the headlines", i'm cheryl jennings. today we are talking about saving lives through organ donation. with me is sharing personal

story to donate one of her kidneys. i would have to say all around great gal. you made this donation back in 2003, kneel about your dad, how old was he? >> he was 76. he was the second oldest kidney transplanted in history at that time. >> was that a problem? >> no. he was in such a good condition. he was very good patient and they said why not take a chance. >> you took this process but why did you decide that to do that? >> my parents gave me life so was to return the favor. secondly, don't need both kidneys. my sister and i were trying to decide who gave the kidney. so i gave the kidney. because at 76, by doing that we

keep both parents around. >> i was in that surgery room with you and sharing vird video. i remember you were very calm and your dad? >> i think it was th drugs. actually, we were thrilled because it got to that point. >> any complications? >> none for me or my father. at 85 right now he has rheumatism but that is his only problem, she slimmer than i am. >> this is what he looks like today? >> that is my mom and dad. that is one of the birthday parties. that was a couple years ago. >> so he is just getting around and you have given him years of life? >> he gave me all of mine. >> what was the process for you because you had to take time off of work? >> there were two parallel things.

medical process you go through extensive testing. i just wanted to hurry up and be over so we could do this thing. on the other hand, you have to make arrangements for your life. i had a wonderful employer, kgo radio and you have medical leave they helped me arrange for short term disability and they supplemented my income which was very kind. so it's important that now what your support group is lining. i have friends and family who are wonderful mind husband john who was there for all of us. >> how d was your dad doing? >> he was on medicare but if you were on dialysis you qualify for medicare for the transplant. up to 2006 they only paid for the drugs is that allows to keep the kidney for four or five years but since then, they let

you do it infinitum. >> are you worried that you only have one kidney? >> i don't think like that. i'm not worried about that. no, i'm not worried, at ucsf, donors are first in line in anything happens. i'm heap. i got both parents. i've got a great working kidney. >> we've got 20 seconds left. it's very easy to get a kidney donor card. >> go on theirte and get your family to fill them out. >> fantastic. i'm so glad that you here and thank you for updating. >> we go back so far. >> reporter: that is going to do it for this segment, but coming up, some of the common m

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welcome back. i'm cheryl jennings. today we're talking about how the get of live can be given through organ donation. 17-year-old alfonso garcia 'had the thrill of a lifetime throwing out the first pitch at the giants ballpark in july. it was 'part of organ donation awareness day. he was given 24 hours to live because of a rair liver disease but his life was saved through emergency transplant. >> it goes through my day, some people have to die. >> now he encourages people to sign up for the california transplant donor network. here if with me from the california donor network is a community development liaison murel sanchez. we're spending a whole half-hour

on this. what are some of the midsts people have about donating organs? >> they think if you become an organ donor, they will look all bloated and other things. in the hispanic community that they will be -- you be organ donor and you can look just as before. others have concerns about i'm too old. you can sign up at any age. anyway can be an organ donor, or if you have helpful tight "c" you can still be an organ donor. we tell people they should sign up and let the medical team decide. >> do you have a personal interest in this? >> i do have a high school

student, whenshe was 16 years on old and she suffered burns in 60% of her body and thanks to the miracle transplantation she got her life saved and she now married and has two kids. >> that is fantastic. there is a lot more. >> the living donor you can donate a kidney or portion of your liver. but you can save eight lives. heart, two kidneys and liver and pancreas and small intestines so you can make a big difference. >> and you were talking about the skin? >> and the skin, too you can enhance people's lives by skin transplantation. >> and you heard the person talking about donating a kidney. how does it ranks at is most needed organ?

>> kidney is by far the most needed. in california it's seven to nine years. of the 21,000 people waiting for transplant in california, 17,000 are waiting for a kidney. so that is big need. >> do these people make it or survive? >> people survive, but i mean, it is a honk wait. as the long wait. some people do it nationwide. so there is a big need. >> is it difficult for the process -- i know you said hung up, but does it take a long time to be interviewed or have blood tests. >> it is difficult to be an organ donor. you can go to website. 98% of the 8.6 million california do so.

>> we want to make sure people know how to reach you. we your website up for you. how many hospitals do you work with? >> 175 hospitals in this area. central and northern california and reno, nevada. >> so we want to remind people they won't be dig figured? >> they won't be disfigured and celebrities will get an organ first. because somebody can afford get an organ, why should i get it? >> the list is very fair. >> that is good to know. we always wondered about that. >> we do have to take another break but just in a moment. we'll bring you how one organization is working to give the gift of sight to thousands of people bo

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we can back. did you know that organ and tissue donation can involve many parts of the human body. donations of skin cart lanlt and intestines and nerves are few examples that life savings gifts our bodies can provide. earlier in this year, a medical miracle was unveiled at uc davis. a team of doctors performed an larynx transplant and it restored a woman's ability to speak. >> for more than a decade, brenda couldn't use her voice. >> now the 52-year-old modesto woman is a chatterbox. >> i'm still working on it but it's improving every day. >> she is second person ever that received a larynx trance plant. it's a complex surgery.

a team of surgeons from uc davis practiced for two years before performing the delicate operation. >> it's somewhat complex. >> they took the liarjs and thyroid gland from a donor whose family okayed the procedure. 13 days later the patient was able to speak. the vocal cords were paralyze whd a vewt liags tube in her throat accidentally moved. she used a electronic box and suffered teasing and stares. >> i never thought we would be able to put something like this together. >> jensen was an ideal candidate because as a recipient of transplant four years ago she is taking the powerful medications that help prevent organ

rejections. her voice don't grow stronger and she hopes to have her breathing tube removed in the next few months. >> i'm doing it. it was very much worth it to me. >> the only other known larynx transplant was on a man in cleveland back in 1998. h. that was also successful. her doctors call her a living laboratory and air is her progress gives hope to thousands of other patients. carolyn tyler, "abc 7 news." just incredible. joining me in the studio is talking about more incredible stuff. a director of california's sight life. they focus on corneal transplants to restore vision. why focus on corneal transplants? >> by focusing on corneal transplantation, we will be able

to supply a sufficient supply of corneas to accomplish the mission which is to eliminate corneal blindness for 10 million people that suffer worldwide from the disease. >> you have to teach me? >> sure. >> so what condition and how is it determined? >> there are conditions that people can have, a corneal scarring. just to tame a knew. they -- just to name a few. and doctors set up the procedure. >> so if somebody is living donor? >> no. >> so you have to get a donor card and sign it? >> you have to pass away. so we have consent and from the individual's next of kin. a lot of people don't realize anybody can be a corneal donor. people often say, wouldn't want

my eyes. people encourage them to donate at our website to be a donor. don't rule yourself out. i think it's a medical facility that receives ocular tissue for transplantation and research. we are the ones that evaluate the tissue and sure it's safe for transplant. >> how much does it cost for surgery? >> corneal transplantation is covered by medicare and by individual ace insurance. as far as the cornea goes, it's illegal to buy or sell them. >> is it complicated procedure? >> it's gotten more complicated. there are two types of techniques that can be used. first removes the entire cornea and replaces witness deochbd tissue that looks likes a

contact lens. the second is a newer procedure and removes layers of the cornea and replaces the layers. that is advantageous because it has fewer sutures and has less time to heal. >> i know you have been doing this internationally? >> we have a robust and global program. they estimate there is about 10 million that are blind from the cornea. >> we have some images? >> we do a lot of work in india where there are 1 million people that are corneal bliand blind. this is a picture of an eight-year-old boy. it shows up from surgery to super hero. he said when he was done with school he was going to be a super hero. >> where do you find the donors? >> through hospital contacts and

hospital contact is when people die. people that are on the donor registry or contact nebs of kin. we encourage everyone to back donor, sign up on the registry and be a hero. >> i just want to remind people, you said age is not a barrier? >> no, it's not. let the experts decide if you are eligible to be a donor or not. >> reporter: that is great information. thank you so much. we're going encourage everybody be involved. we are out of time. i want to say a special thanks to all of our guests for joining us today. that is it for this edition of "beyond the headlines." we have information about all of our guests and all their websites are available at abc7news.com/community and now you can find it on facebook on community affairs. follow me on twitter. i'm cheryl jennings.

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